Trump Sends Mixed Signals on North Korea During Visit to South

Pledges 'All Available Tools Short of Military Action' Against North

After months of threatening to “totally destroy” North Korea, President Trump’s visit to South Korea has him offering an unusually conciliatory tone, assuring South Koreans that “it will all work out.”

In his comments, Trump even pledged to use “all available tools short of military action” against North Korea, and in a particular rarity for his comments on the situation, didn’t reject the idea that anything short of military action might work.

Trump had suggested the day before he was open to meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Trump still talked of acting with “urgency” and of using America’s “unmatched military capabilities,” but no longer seemed to be war-centric.

Tensions between the US and North Korea have been soaring for months, raising fears across the region that a nuclear war could erupt at any moment. Today’s more measured comments, if raising a lot of questions where the US actually stands, may point to such a war being less of an imminent threat.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.